The is a museum located in Shiraoi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The museum's mission is "to promote a proper understanding and awareness of Ainu history and culture in Japan and elsewhere out of respect for the dignity of the indigenous Ainu people, while contributing to the creation and development of new aspects of Ainu culture".

History

It was originally scheduled to open on April 24th, 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the opening was rescheduled several times. It officially opened on July 12, 2020. It will serve as one of the three main facilities of Upopoy (meaning "singing in a large group"), alongside the National Ainu Park, and a memorial site on high ground on the east side of where Ainu services are held. The new National Museum supersedes and replaces the former

Ainu Museum The , also known as Porotokotan, is a former museum in Shiraoi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The facility began its existence in 1976 as the Shiraoi Foundation for the Preservation of Ainu Culture. In 1984 this was extended to include the Ainu Folk Museum. ...

, which closed on the 31st of March, 2018 to make way for the new museum. The former museum was nestled beside a traditional Ainu village, a kotan. This traditional village remains in place on the west side of the grounds for visitors to experience a taste of traditional Ainu life.

Timeline

* 2007: The

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

adopted the " Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples". * 2008: The

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

and the

House of Councilors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, or ...

unanimously adopted a "resolution calling for the Ainu people to be indigenous peoples". * 2009: Proposed the development of a "space that symbolizes symbiosis with the people" in the report of the "Advisory Panel on Ainu Policy". * 2014: Cabinet decision on "Basic policy on the development and management of" a space that symbolizes symbiosis with the people "". It was decided to develop a symbolic space for ethnic symbiosis in Shiraoi. * 2015: The Agency for Cultural Affairs formulates the National Ainu Cultural Museum (tentative name) basic plan. * 2016: Established a public-private support network to promote space exchanges that symbolize ethnic symbiosis. * 2017: Published the outline of the basic design of the National Ainu Museum. Designated as the operating entity of the Ainu Culture Promotion and Research Promotion Organization. * 2018:

(Porotokotan) closed. The Ainu Culture Promotion and Research Promotion Organization merged with the Ainu Museum, and the name was changed to the Ainu Culture Foundation. The nickname for the symbolic space for ethnic symbiosis is decided to be "Upopoi". * 2019 (first year of

Reiwa is the current Japanese era name, era of Japan's official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, Enthronement of the Japanese emperor, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The ...

): Enforcement of the "Act on Promotion of Measures to Realize a Society in which the Pride of the Ainu People is Respected". Completion of memorial facility. * 2020: Due to the spread of the 2019 new coronavirus infection in Japan, the commemorative ceremony was held on July 11 after two postponements, and in July. Opened on the 12th. A TV commercial sung by KOM_I of

Wednesday Campanella is a Japanese music group formed in 2012 combining musical genres such as EDM, J-pop, and hip hop into a unique stylistic blend. The lyrics generally follow a theme of famous or mythical people and creatures from history, pop culture, or vari ...

was aired.「ウポポイ、ウポポイ～」と歌うウポポイ（民族共生象徴空間）のCMソングは？
- CDJournal（2020年10月6日）2020年10月21日閲覧 * About 10,000 torchbearers were selected by open recruitment as the venue for the celebration at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

torch relay in Tokyo. Regarding the torch relay, the organizing committee was held by four sponsor companies and each prefectural executive committee. It was announced that there were a total of 535,717 applications for the runners' open call for participants.

Exhibits

Exhibits are displayed according to six principal themes: the Ainu language, Ainu history, Ainu views of the world, Ainu livelihoods (

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...

, gathering,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, farming), Ainu lifestyles ( food,

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

, shelters,

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, dance), and Ainu trade and exchange with surrounding peoples, including projected "multicultural coexistence" in the Japan of the future.

Access and parking

It is located about 1 hour by car from

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

and about 40 minutes by car from

New Chitose Airport is an international airport located south-southeast of Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō. It is adjacent to Chitose Air Ba ...

. * Get off at the Donan Bus "Upopoy Mae" bus stop * About 10 minutes on foot from the north exit of

Shiraoi Station is a train station in Shiraoi, Shiraoi District, Hokkaidō, Japan. Lines *Hokkaido Railway Company **Muroran Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Oshamambe Station in Osh ...

. * Parking Lot ** Ordinary car 1st parking lot: 246 cars ** Ordinary car second parking lot: 311 cars ** Temporary parking lot for ordinary cars ** Large bus 1st parking lot: 50 cars ** Large bus second parking lot: 38 cars ** Bicycle parking lot ** Memorial facility Ordinary car parking lot: 66 cars

Gallery

ウポポイ - ポロト湖とコタン 02.jpg Shiraoi-upopoy_14.jpg Shiraoi-upopoy 06.jpg 国立アイヌ民族博物館館内.jpg Shiraoi-upopoy_44.jpg Shiraoi-upopoy_42.jpg Shiraoi-upopoy_32.jpg Shiraoi-upopoy 24.jpg Shiraoi-upopoy_23.jpg

References

External links

*
Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park
/
民族共生象徴空間

The Foundation for Ainu Culture
/

{{authority control Museums in Hokkaido Shiraoi, Hokkaido Museums established in 2020 2020 establishments in Japan National museums of Japan Ainu Ethnic museums